How to File Form 8865 for US Persons & Foreign Partnerships

What is IRS Form 8865?

Form 8865 refers to the IRS’ Return of U.S. Persons With Respect to Certain Foreign Partnerships. When a United States Taxpayer has ownership in a foreign partnership, they may have an IRS International Information Reporting requirement on Internal Revenue Service Form 8865. Similar to the more common Form 5471, It is an Internal Revenue Service international reporting form required by U.S. Persons who qualify as one of the categories of filers with ownership in a foreign partnership — in accordance with Internal Revenue Code sections 6038 and 6046. It is not limited to Controlled Foreign entities either — which is another common misconception. When a Taxpayer has a foreign partnership, they may have an IRS reporting requirement. The reporting is not determined by whether any income was generated, or if the business turned a profit.  Unlike other international reporting forms such as the FBAR and Form 8938, Form 8865 is a very comprehensive international tax form. The form is complicated and requires a firm understanding of tax and accounting principles such as assets, liabilities, income, and equity, as well as ancillary issues (depending on how the IRS ultimately classifies the entity) such as Subpart F and other more complicated international tax components — such as GILTI and FDII. The IRS strictly enforces reporting compliance and routinely issues penalties for non-compliance. We summarize the basics of the 8865 IRS Form below for you.

What are the Form 8865 Filing Requirements?

A person will file form 8865 when they qualify as one of the four (4) categories of filers indicated in the instructions. There are four categories of filers, and depending on which category a person falls into, it may be required to file form 8865 along with certain schedules detailing more information about the foreign partnership.

Category 1 (aka Control)

• • • When a person has control of a foreign partnership, which typically means ownership of more than 50% of the partnership, then they will qualify as a category 1 Filer.

Category 2 (U.S. Controlled Partnership)

• • • This category of filing requires an individual to have at least 10% interest in the foreign partnership when the foreign partnership is controlled by US persons each having at least 10% ownership. If this sounds familiar to you, it is similar to a controlled foreign corporation in which more than 50% ownership must be had by US persons each having at least 10% ownership (attribution rules apply).

Category 3 (Contributing Property)

• • • When a U.S. person contributes property to a foreign partnership, and in exchange receives an interest in the partnership, they will also have to file this form when the person either owns 10% or more immediately following the contribution or when the value of the property (along with any other property attributed by the individual or related person during the 12 month period ending on the transfer) exceeds more than $100,000.00

Category 4 (General Catchall)

• • • This is the most common scenario for most individuals. Why? Because often times the foreign partnership will not be owned by at least 50% of US persons who each own 10%, the individual will not control the Partnership, nor contribute any property. That brings us to the fourth category in which a person acquires at least 10% or greater interest in the foreign partnership. A typical example would be when the individual purchases a 15% share or inherits a 12.5 percent share.

Form 8865 or 8938 (or both)

A common question we receive, is whether a person should file the Form 8865 and/or Form 8938. Typically, a person will file a form 8938 (Reporting Specified Foreign Financial Assets) if they have an interest in an offshore investment, which does not meet the threshold requirement of an 8865 or 5471, and/or it is not the year of acquisition. But, if the ownership is in the year of acquisition and/or the the value/percentage of the ownership increases, the person may have to file a form 8865 instead of the 8938 for the particular asset. This is especially true when it involves a foreign partnership.(a person does not file the same form 8938 and 8865 for the same interest...although if accounts are involved, an FBAR may be required)

Why Do I Not File 8938?

Form 8938 is used to report specified foreign assets. Typically, the scenario will include a foreign bank account or foreign stock ownership. When a person owns a percentage of a foreign partnership, they may also need to report it on Form 8938… unless they meet the threshold requirement of having to file form 8865. In that case, the individual will file a form 8865 instead of Form 8938 as to that particular interest in the foreign partnership.

How do I File Form 8865?

Form 8865 is generally not the type of form that you will find included in tax software used by non-tax professionals such as TurboTax or TaxAct. Rather, if you are not utilizing a tax professional, you would have to download the PDF form and complete the form yourself. Thereafter, you would attach Form 8865 to your income tax return when you submitted to the IRS.

Form 8865 is No Tax Return Required?

Unfortunately, the Internal Revenue Service does not let you off the hook that easily. Rather, you will still have the complete and submit the form separately to the location you would otherwise have to submit a tax return — in order to make sure you are in compliance. In other words, if you are the only US person in the Foreign Partnership, and the only person filing this form on behalf of the partnership — even if you do not have to file a tax return, you still have the file this form.

Exceptions to Filing Form 8865

There are many exceptions to filing Form 8865 — too long to list in this summary. You can reference the exceptions directly on the instructions provided by the IRS — page 4.

Key Definitions of Terms Used in Form 8865

The IRS provides the following summary of the different key terms used in preparing form 8865:

Partnership

• • • A partnership is the relationship between two or more persons who join to carry on a trade or business, with each person contributing money, property, labor, or skill and each expecting to share in the profits and losses of the business whether or not a formal partnership agreement is made. The term “partnership” includes a limited partnership, syndicate, group, pool, joint venture, or other unincorporated organization, through or by which any business, financial operation, or venture is carried on, that is not, within the meaning of the regulations under section 7701, a corporation, trust, estate, or sole proprietorship. A joint undertaking merely to share expenses is not a partnership. Mere co-ownership of property that is maintained and leased or rented is not a partnership. However, if the co-owners provide services to the tenants, a partnership exists.

Foreign partnership

• • • A foreign partnership is a partnership that is not created or organized in the United States or under the law of the United States or of any state or the District of Columbia.

50% interest

• • • A 50% interest in a partnership is an interest equal to: 50% of the capital, 50% of the profits, or 50% of the deductions or losses. For purposes of determining a 50% interest, the constructive ownership rules described below apply.

10% interest

• • • A 10% interest in a partnership is an interest equal to: 10% of the capital, 10% of the profits, or 10% of the deductions or losses. For purposes of determining a 10% interest, the constructive ownership rules described below apply.

Constructive Ownership & Form 8865

• • • For purposes of determining an interest in a partnership, the constructive ownership rules of section 267(c) (excluding section 267(c)(3)) apply, taking into account that such rules refer to corporations and not to partnerships. Generally, an interest owned directly or indirectly by or for a corporation, partnership, estate, or trust shall be considered as being owned proportionately by its owners, partners, or beneficiaries. Also, an individual is considered to own an interest owned directly or indirectly by or for his or her family. The family of an individual includes only that individual’s spouse, brothers, sisters, ancestors, and lineal descendants. An interest will be attributed from a nonresident alien individual under the family attribution rules only if the person to whom the interest is attributed owns a direct or indirect interest in the foreign partnership under section 267(c)(1) or (5)

Form 8865 Penalties

The penalties for failing to file form are intense, and vary depending on which category a person would have to file:

Failure to timely submit all information required of Category 1 and 2 filers.

• • • • • A $10,000 penalty is imposed for each tax year of each foreign partnership for failure to furnish the required information within the time prescribed. If the information is not filed within 90 days after the IRS has mailed a notice of the failure to the U.S. person, an additional $10,000 penalty (per foreign partnership) is charged for each 30-day period, or fraction thereof, during which the failure continues after the 90-day period has expired.

        • The additional penalty is limited to a maximum of $50,000 for each failure. Any person who fails to furnish all of the information required within the time prescribed will be subject to a reduction of 10% of the foreign taxes available for credit under sections 901, 902, and 960. If the failure continues 90 days or more after the date the IRS mails notice of the failure, an additional 5% reduction is made for each 3-month period, or fraction thereof, during which the failure continues after the 90-day period has expired. See section 6038 (and the underlying regulations) for the maximum reduction, the exception due to reasonable cause, and for limits on the amount of these penalties.

        • Criminal penalties under sections 7203, 7206, and 7207 may apply for failure to file or for filing false or fraudulent information. Additionally, any person that files under the constructive owners exception may be subject to these penalties if all the requirements of the exception are not met. Any person required to file Form 8865 who does not file under the multiple Category 1 filers exception may be subject to the above penalties if the other person does not file a correctly completed form and schedules. See Exceptions to Filing, earlier.

Failure to file information required of Category 3 filers.

• • • Any person that fails to properly report a contribution to a foreign partnership that is required to be reported under section 6038B and the regulations under that section is subject to a penalty equal to 10% of the fair market value (FMV) of the property at the time of the contribution. This penalty is subject to a $100,000 limit, unless the failure is due to intentional disregard. In addition, the transferor must recognize gain on the contribution as if the contributed property had been sold for its FMV. See section 6038B for the exception due to reasonable cause.

Failure to file information required of Category 4 filers.

Any person who fails to properly report all the information requested by section 6046A is subject to a $10,000 penalty, in addition to the section 7203 criminal penalty, unless it is shown that such failure is due to reasonable cause. If the failure continues for more than 90 days after the IRS mails notice of the failure, an additional $10,000 penalty will apply for each 30-day period (or fraction thereof) during which the failure continues after the 90-day period has expired. The additional penalty shall not exceed $50,000.

Section 6662(j) Penalties

• • • Penalties may be imposed for underpayment attributable to undisclosed foreign financial asset understatements. The term “undisclosed foreign financial asset” with respect to any tax year includes any asset with respect to which required information was not provided. An “undisclosed foreign financial asset understatement” means for any tax year, the portion of the understatement for that tax year which is attributable to any transaction involving an undisclosed foreign financial asset. No penalty will be imposed with respect to any portion of an underpayment if the taxpayer can demonstrate that the failure to comply was due to reasonable cause with respect to such portion of the underpayment and the taxpayer acted in good faith with respect to such portion of the underpayment. See sections 6662(j) and 6664(c) for additional information.

Late Filing Penalties May be Reduced or Avoided

For Taxpayers who did not timely file their FBAR and other international information-related reporting forms, the IRS has developed many different offshore amnesty programs to assist taxpayers with safely getting into compliance. These programs may reduce or even eliminate international reporting penalties.

Current Year vs Prior Year Non-Compliance

Once a taxpayer missed the tax and reporting (such as FBAR and FATCA) requirements for prior years, they will want to be careful before submitting their information to the IRS in the current year. That is because they may risk making a quiet disclosure if they just begin filing forward in the current year and/or mass filing previous year forms without doing so under one of the approved IRS offshore submission procedures. Before filing prior untimely foreign reporting forms, taxpayers should consider speaking with a Board-Certified Tax Law Specialist who specializes exclusively in these types of offshore disclosure matters.

Avoid False Offshore Disclosure Submissions (Willful vs Non-Willful)

In recent years, the IRS has increased the level of scrutiny for certain streamlined procedure submissions. When a person is non-willful, they have an excellent chance of making a successful submission to Streamlined Procedures. If they are willful, they would submit to the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program instead. But, if a willful Taxpayer submits an intentionally false narrative under the Streamlined Procedures (and gets caught), they may become subject to significant fines and penalties. 

Need Help Finding an Experienced Offshore Tax Attorney?

When it comes to hiring an experienced international tax attorney to represent you for unreported foreign and offshore account reporting, it can become overwhelming for taxpayers trying to trek through all the false information and nonsense they will find in their online research. There are only a handful of attorneys worldwide who are Board-Certified Tax Specialists and who specialize exclusively in offshore disclosure and international tax amnesty reporting. 

Golding & Golding: About Our International Tax Law Firm

Golding & Golding specializes exclusively in international tax, specifically IRS offshore disclosure. 

Contact our firm today for assistance.